Chapter 3
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Miles Examination
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Scarlett explained in detail.
The academy's entrance conditions and benefits. Follow-up support plans, and so on.
It was a story that couldn't help but excite him, but Abel listened through to the end without showing it.
Finally, after finishing her rough explanation, Scarlett said to Abel.
"That's the explanation. I'll send someone again tomorrow, so I'd appreciate it if you could make your decision by then."
Though she had suddenly proposed enrollment, she didn't seem to expect an immediate answer, and wrapped up the conversation like that.
Abel bowed his head and replied politely.
"Yes. Thank you for your consideration."
"No need to thank me. Ah, and even if you accept the offer, that's not the end. You'll have to take a simple test."
"Understood."
Scarlett gave a slight nod and turned, quickly exiting the waiting room.
'Her presence is overwhelming.'
Abel thought as he watched her go out the door.
Scarlett Klein.
The head of the renowned Klein Count family, one of the Empire's Three Saints bearing the title Flame Spear.
She was also an extraordinary figure who had revived her nearly fallen family single-handedly through her own fame.
That had been possible because Scarlett was a war hero and one of the top Gigant riders.
'But more importantly, she's one of the academy's professors.'
Academy full professors had the authority of 'entrance recommendations.'
For Abel, who had no clear status or money, that authority was exactly what he needed to take the academy entrance exam.
'And I got that offer from Scarlett herself.'
Though he had to pass a simple test, just being a candidate was enough.
Abel clenched his fist and smiled.
* * *
A wooden wall riddled with holes and a shabby roof.
The musty smell of wood and a fishy odor wafting from somewhere made even sitting still agonizing.
This was Abel's home.
Abel sat on the chair in the corner of the room and scanned the shabby but familiar interior of his house.
Amusingly, when he first settled here, the emotion he felt wasn't agony but happiness.
It was an environment that would have made him cringe on Earth, but he had been so thrilled to finally sleep in a house instead of on the streets.
"Abel."
The voice that snapped Abel out of his reverie was that of an old man, clear and ringing.
"What are you staring at with such a forlorn look?"
Turning his head, he saw an old man with a familiar face standing at the door he had smashed while drunk not long ago.
The old man wore a robe of clearly high-quality material and held a staff made of expensive ebony in one hand.
Under his snow-white hair were sharp green eyes full of vitality and a white beard reaching down to his chest.
At first glance, he looked like a sage or an aloof wizard. Though in reality, he was anything but.
"When did you arrive?"
"When did I arrive? Just now, you brat. More importantly, does this dump only have one chair?"
"Have a seat here."
"Nah, forget it."
The old man waved him off and perched on Abel's bed. He stared intently at him for a moment before speaking.
"You're leaving today?"
"Yes. I told you when we were drinking the day before yesterday."
"You told me? Your manners are getting worse by the day."
"Isn't that proof I've learned well from you, Master?"
The old man scowled at Abel's cheeky tone.
He seemed to contemplate whether to show that the staff in his hand could be a weapon.
But he soon gave up on that, sighed, and said.
"Hoo. If you act like that there, you'll get kicked out right away."
"You're worrying needlessly. You know what kind of guy I am."
"Yeah, I know all too well. Tch. Should've seen your true nature right from the start."
"Then I would've become your disciple even sooner."
The old man glared at him before chuckling. Abel smiled back.
"If not for that monstrous Sync Rate of yours, I would've broken your limbs and locked you in the workshop."
"Yes, sure."
"I'm not joking. Your Sync Rate is freakishly high, but your talent for Gigant crafting is top-notch too. Enough to make even this Vulcanus covetous."
At his serious tone, Abel nodded instead of joking back.
The old man's name was Vulcanus.
He was one of the top Gigant artisans even in the capital teeming with master craftsmen, and also Abel's master.
He had first met Vulcanus and started working under him thanks to a quest.
But the time spent together and the bond they built were real.
In truth, Abel could properly take root and live in this world largely thanks to Vulcanus.
'Without Mr. Vulcanus, I might've ended up a cold corpse.'
Beyond survival, Abel had received much help from him.
Without Vulcanus's teachings, assembling a functional Gigant from scrap parts would have been a pipe dream.
"Hmm."
Tapping the floor with his staff, Vulcanus slowly opened his mouth.
"If you'd asked, I might've given you a decent Gigant, so why insist on that piece of junk to the end?"
It had been over a year since he started following Vulcanus, but this was the first time hearing this question.
Perhaps he was finally voicing what he'd held back until departure.
Abel responded in kind, revealing his own inner thoughts.
"Didn't I tell you?"
"What?"
"That I'd become a famous Gigant rider and formally commission you later. But if I took something from you, old man, I couldn't complain then."
Vulcanus stared blankly at Abel before bursting into hearty laughter.
"Yeah. That's just like you."
Nodding, Vulcanus used his staff to stand.
"It won't be easy. Still, I'll be expecting great things."
"Yes. It won't take long."
"Right. And take this."
Vulcanus pulled something from his bosom and tossed it.
Abel caught it reflexively. It was a small dagger.
"What the—suddenly throwing a weapon..."
"It's made from Rabbit."
Abel froze at Vulcanus's words.
"Either way, it's a Gigant you made yourself. You said you didn't want anything, but I could tell."
Abel fiddled with the dagger and pointed to the bead on the hilt.
"This... is that what I think it is?"
"Yeah. It's a processed core. Attach it to a sub-core, and it might function properly. Though I just put it in as a memento."
At Vulcanus's explanation, Abel's eyes reddened further as he stroked the dagger.
The dagger, sheathed in leather, had a rabbit emblem engraved on the hilt.
Rabbit.
The moment he first possessed something truly 'his own' after falling into this unfamiliar world was one he could never forget.
Abel tucked the dagger into his bosom and said.
"...Thank you."
"No need to thank me. Well, I'm off then."
Vulcanus grinned and waved as he left the house.
Abel saw him off outside before coming back in.
His packing was already done, so there was nothing more to do.
"Feels empty."
Abel gazed at the vacant house for a moment before slowly closing his eyes.
His vision darkened instantly, but focusing brought faint light and text floating up.
[Abel]
[Race: Human]
[Body Grade: E]
[Sync Rate: S]
[Mana: F]
[Owned Gigant: None]
[Skills: Beginner Gigant Crafting, Intermediate Gigant Repair, Mana Sensitivity]
It was a status window in exactly the same format as the game.
The difference was that, unlike the game's character, Abel's was pathetically lacking.
The body grade, indicating overall physical development, was barely E out of F to S.
On par with an ordinary person.
Considering he was still in his growth phase, it was above average, but not satisfying.
Mana was the lowest F, and owned Gigant was scrapped and turned into a dagger.
The only redeeming parts in the meager status were Sync Rate and skills.
Sync Rate was the alpha and omega of Gigant piloting, needless to say, and the skill pool was decent.
Gigant crafting and repair weren't combat skills, but they were very useful.
Gigants broke down often.
Being able to repair them even basically was a huge merit.
'Still, the best is Mana Sensitivity.'
Mana Sensitivity.
It was the skill he had just obtained as the quest reward.
Sensing mana was the most basic requirement to become a Gigant rider.
No matter the skill, without sensing mana, one couldn't pilot high-grade Gigants.
'Worth clinging to that quest.'
Abel opened his eyes slowly, satisfied.
Until now, the world had looked utterly ordinary.
But the moment he gained Mana Sensitivity, the world Abel saw changed drastically.
In the empty air where nothing was visible before, blue smoke-like wisps now drifted about.
That was mana.
Mana Sensitivity was an advanced skill that not only heightened mana sensitivity but allowed one to see it with their own eyes.
Probably only a handful could see it.
For now, the low skill grade made it faint.
This too would greatly aid future trials.
Tap, tap-.
Lost in the flow of mana, Abel snapped to attention at the sound of footsteps outside.
'Did the old man come back?'
No one else visited Abel's house.
He had no friends.
But this time, it wasn't the old man.
"Abel. Is that you?"
The man who appeared through the open door wore a deep navy uniform.
He seemed at least 190 cm tall, his whole body sturdily trained at a glance.
"Yes."
Abel spotted the red hawk brooch on the man's collar and immediately bowed his head.
The man stared at Abel before speaking.
"The Klein Count has ordered me to bring you."
It was the summons from Scarlett Klein he had been waiting for.
* * *
The Klein Count family was unusually bustling.
There was an important event today.
Carriages arrived one after another at the mansion's main gate, and from them emerged boys around sixteen.
Without exception, the boys who stepped out gawked wide-eyed at the massive mansion.
"Wow..."
One boy let out an exclamation.
It was warranted.
The grand mansion exuded that much intimidation.
Standing on vast grounds, it looked down on unfamiliar visitors from above, instilling awe.
Even Abel swallowed hard at the sight.
"This way, please."
Before the boys, including Abel, could calm their astonishment at the mansion, they were led to one place.
Not inside the mansion, but to the training grounds behind it.
'Talk about efficient.'
Just seeing the venue conveyed Scarlett's straightforward nature.
Abel thought to himself as he surveyed the training grounds.
'Damn, it's huge.'
The mansion was large, but the training grounds took up the most area on the grounds.
Spacious enough for Gigants to run around.
'Well, it was made for that purpose from the start.'
Among the capital's nobles, few had training grounds vast enough for Gigants behind their mansions.
Only three, including Scarlett.
Feeling the Klein Count family's power once more, Abel glanced sideways.
There were five boys in total.
Anxious expressions, expectant ones, dissatisfied looks.
The emotions on the children's faces varied.
'Oh.'
Among them, the one Abel eyed was the expectant type.
His gaze fell on a Gigant lying there. An enormous one at that.
'Miles.'
A 6-meter-tall Gigant.
Even lying down, its majesty was undiminished.
Midget-grades averaged 3 meters, overwhelming up close, but Miles was incomparable at double the size.
'As expected of Miles.'
Midget-grades could be handled without much mana aptitude.
Tito-grades were within ordinary people's reach, if less so.
'But Miles is different.'
Miles required not just mana aptitude but rigorous training.
The exclusive domain of riders, forbidden to commoners.
Abel eyed the Miles sparklingly.
'I can guess what the test is without looking. This'll be fun?'
At that moment.
Step, step-.
A woman with a familiar face walked up to Abel and the boys.
Abel finally tore his eyes from Miles and turned to the approaching woman.
Scarlett, head of the Klein Count family.
She scanned the boys before speaking.
"You all came well."
Before they could reply, she continued swiftly.
"I explained briefly beforehand, but only one will enroll in the academy via recommendation. This is the selection process."
Scarlett explained that far, then glanced aside, where a waiting knight took over.
"You will now board that Miles."
At his words, the boys' eyes widened hugely. They hadn't imagined riding that.
'As expected.'
Everyone except Abel.
"The criterion is simple."
The knight continued calmly.
As if it were no big deal.
"Board the Gigant and endure as long as possible."
But the content was brutally harsh.
Having been selected for their interest and aptitude in Gigants, they knew well.
How difficult boarding a Miles was.
The knight spoke nonchalantly despite their reactions.
"We'll start right away."
Scarlett had already stepped aside, and the knight led the boys in her stead.
Meanwhile.
The knight felt doubt inwardly as he watched the boys follow.
Common sense dictated this test was too harsh for inexperienced young boys.
None among them likely had ever ridden a Miles-grade.
'Can they even activate it?'
And even if activated, could they last over a second?
His faith in Scarlett was absolute, but this test seemed excessively demanding, even shaking him slightly.
Handling it required thorough experience, even for high-Sync kids.
But the loyal knight never showed such thoughts.
Arriving before Miles, he spoke casually.
"Anyone want to try first?"
At that, everyone's faces stiffened.
Knowing what boarding Miles meant, this was the normal reaction.
The knight naturally prepared to call the next.
But then.
"I'll go first."
One boy showed an abnormal reaction.
The knight raised his hand and looked at the forward-stepping boy.
Black hair, black eyes.
Smaller build than the others, but with a bold, confident expression.
The knight said to the boy, Abel.
"Sure."
No reason to discourage volunteering first.
The knight thought inwardly that Abel should quit before getting hurt, and prepared the boarding.
Miles lay for easy access, but climbing with Abel's small frame was tricky.
Yet Abel nimbly entered the cockpit without help.
'Hope he doesn't get hurt.'
The knight watched Abel settle into Miles with that thought.
In truth, no one present believed Abel could properly activate Miles.
At that moment.
Seated in the cockpit, Abel inwardly marveled.
He could feel the cockpit's superior craftsmanship.
But what most drew his admiration was the core at the center.
'This is Miles' core.'
Vastly larger than Rabbit's, incomparable.
'Not the time for this.'
Admiration brief.
Abel took a deep breath and placed both hands on the core.
First time on Miles, but he knew what to do.
First, he gathered his scant mana and pushed it into the core.
Woooooong!
Reacting to Abel's mana, the core vibrated fiercely, emitting bright light, and the absorbed mana spread through the machine before returning to Abel.
"Hup!"
Dizziness hit like vertigo, and suddenly all senses expanded.
Like a three- or four-year-old child suddenly in a burly adult's body.
Groooooan-!
Outside, as vibration sounded and Miles began activating, some faces showed surprise.
Groooan!
If a knight or at least an apprentice rider were aboard, it wouldn't be surprising.
But riding it was a boy who had never boarded Miles before.
"Is that... no way...?"
"How..."
Even seasoned knights couldn't hide their shock, murmuring.
But that was just the start.
"Grk!"
Abel gritted his teeth against the persistent dizziness and headache.
To move a Gigant, 'thinking' was key.
A blank mind from pain accomplished nothing.
So Abel pictured an image in his mind.
A scene from a cartoon he enjoyed as a child.
The protagonist standing tall, undaunted by pain.
Thud!
The Gigant's arms pressed the ground. Then its massive upper body rose.
"Hoo!"
Abel didn't stop, sharpening the mental image.
Casting off heavy chains and rising loftily.
The Gigant responded to his will.
Kuuuung-!
A heavy thud echoed, staggering the gawking onlookers.
Abel watched everyone look up as his view rose.
Kuuuung-!
Thus, when the giant stood on both feet upon the earth.
Imagination became reality, imprinting the name Abel on everyone present.